a prayer (moderators)

posted by Kaihsu Tai on October 22nd, 2006

Let us pray.

God, we thank you for the promise of Jesus, that
“there is no one who has given up
house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions,
and eternal life in the age to come.” (Mark 10:29-30)

Teach us when it is appropriate to run away from persecution,
but if our witness for you
is to involve suffering or even death at the hands of others,
O God, give us strength and courage.
With all your saints
from Stephen the protomartyr
to the Reverend Irianto Kongkoli of Sulawesi
and Father Boulos Iskander of Mosul
who were killed only days ago,
O God, keep us in your Holy Spirit.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

God, we pray for the Church, which is the Body of Christ.
We pray for our moderators:
Susan, our minister, moderator of this congregation;
Margaret Telfer, President of the Reading and Oxford District Council;
Adrian Bulley, Moderator of the Wessex Synod;
Elizabeth Caswell, Moderator of the General Assembly;
Clifton Kirkpatrick, President of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches; and
Samuel Kobia, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches.
We thank you for their service
and pray that they help all of us make wise decisions.

We pray for all our sisters and brothers in the Church,
many of whom we shall meet in the coming days.
We thank you for their companionship on our journey,
even as Jesus walked with us.
We also pray for them to make wise decisions,
whether arranging chairs in the hall,
or arranging synods around the country.

Today we pray especially for the churches in
Marsh Gibbon and Twyford in Buckinghamshire.
We pray for spiritual guidance in these village churches,
that their worship and service be relevant and meaningful
within the communities they serve.
Together may the fellowships benefit from closer relationships
with other local churches and
be strengthened by ministry within the new zone structure.

God, remind us that all our work for your sake is holy.
Sanctify our every act,
even if we may think that it is insignificant.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We thank you for the world
and all your creation.

In particular,
as the ecumenical prayer cycle reminds us,
this week we pray forIndia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Each of these countries straddle the line
between poverty and potential,
between conflict and community,
between death and life.
God, guide us
to work with sisters and brothers from
India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka,
as members of one Body,
in the work of your kingdom.

Back where we are, we thank you for our city,
where we meet our friends, greet strangers, offer hospitality,
and learn to follow you.
We pray for this city of Oxford,
as we update our recycling scheme and
decide how to develop the West End.

We pray for the schools and universities,
as we settle into the new academic year.
As we prepare for the university mission in January,
titled “Jesus Christ: Suffering and Glory”,
we pray for the speaker, Archbishop John Sentamu of York,
for the chaplains,
and for all involved in the running of the mission.
We pray that the event will be a life-changing occasion for many,
where they will hear your message and your call for them.